All The Right Moves
by CherryXButterfly
Summary: Gilbert has hidden his darkest secret for years, but soon, the whole world will know. He will have to deal with past pains being dragged to the surface, and he might never be able to recover from these terrible memories. Holocaust fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Shay: Yeah, so I just started to wonder one day, how is Gilbert still alive? Then I read a book, and it metioned Prussians being against Hitler, so I decided, Gilbert will quit being Prussia, and represent the Holocaust. It's kind of sad, no, it's really sad, and I might continue this as a song series. So if you have a song you want me to use, send it to me!**

**Pagebreak**

Gilbert stood in the middle of the dance hall, staring straight ahead, eyes shadowed. Recently he had left Russia's care, and many wondered how he was still around. He knew how he was still around; he just didn't want to deal with it. He was around as a memory…

**Ooooooh yeah)  
All the right friends in all the right places  
(so yeah, we're going down)  
They got all the right moves in all the right places  
(so yeah, we're going down)  
**

He remembered when it happened, the young girl he had watched being dragged away by his brother's soldiers. In fact, here in the dance hall, she stood before him, smiling. All the others he had known, standing before him, smiling…

**  
Just paint the picture of a perfect place  
They got it better than what anyone's told ya  
They'll be the king of hearts  
And you're the queen of spades  
Then we'll fight for you like we were your soldiers**

He had started out fighting in World War Two, but then the pain set in. His lungs started to burn, and he grew thinner each day. When he looked around, it was happening to everyone, especially Ludwig. So he took it on himself to rid them of the pain.

**  
I know we got it good, but they got it made  
And the grass is getting greener each day  
I know things are looking up  
But soon they'll take us down  
Before anybody's on our way  
**

No one had noticed as the recovered, and he lost weight. No one noticed when his arm gained the tattoo A0000001. No one noticed as he became as emancipated as the victims. And he was fine with that, except that his true people were dying. Because the moment that tattoo appeared, he had quit being Prussia, and had become their symbol of hope.

**  
They got all the right friends in all the right places  
(so yeah, we're going down)  
They got all the right moves in all the right places  
(so yeah, we're going down)  
I said everybody knows, everybody knows where we're going  
(yeah, we're going down)  
I said everybody knows, everybody knows where we're going  
(yeah, we're going down)**

He had been caught by the S.S. after he had smuggled arms to the resistance. He had been taken to Auschwitz, and then taken to Mengele's labs to be an experiment. No one knew about it, not even his brother. After all, it couldn't get out that Prussia had betrayed the Nazi Regime. ****

Do you think I'm special, do you think I'm nice?  
Am I bright enough to shine in your spaces?  
Between the noise you hear and the sounds you like  
Are we just sinking in the ocean of faces

He had chosen, the day Mengele injected chemicals into his eyes, the day he had become permanently blind, that he was no longer Prussia, but now he was the nation for these abandoned people. People considered monsters by the world. He knew many of the other countries blamed him for the Holocaust, but he didn't care…

**  
It can't be possible that rain could fall  
Only when it's over our heads  
The sun is shining every day, but it's far away  
Over the world, it said, they got, they got  
**

Gilbert looked down at where he knew his right arm, covered in a long sleeve, and bandages. He had never let anyone see what was under the bandages. It was too personal to him and his people. Not the ones everyone believed were his people, but his true people. And he wouldn't die until it was forgotten…

**  
All the right friends in all the right places  
(so yeah, we're going down)  
They got all the right moves in all the right places  
(so yeah, we're going down)  
I said everybody knows, everybody knows where we're going  
(yeah, we're going down)  
I said everybody knows, everybody knows where we're going  
(yeah, we're going down)  
**

What he hadn't noticed was Feliciano coming in to ask him a question. Gilbert didn't notice as he started to roll up his sleeve, and remove the bandages. Feliciano's eyes widened, as he was the numbers on Gilbert's arm. He ran off to ask Ludwig about it.

**  
It don't matter what you see, I know I could never be  
Someone that'll look like you**

Gilbert started brokenly at the number. Even if he couldn't see it, it was still ingrained into his mind, from the moment that drill started to tattoo his arm. Because of it, he didn't fit in with the other nations, or even the other survivors…

**  
It don't matter what you say, I know I could never fake  
Someone that could sound like you  
**

But he didn't care because they had needed him, and he would do it again in a heartbeat. He could never forget what the sound of the screams was like, and how he had listened to every other nation blame him. He knew he had survivor's guilt, and that it made him want to die, but it didn't help. He still wished, that if he had died, ten more people had been saved. He closed his sightless eyes, and sunk down to the floor. It was getting harder to hide his blindness from his brother…

**  
All the right friends in all the right places  
(so yeah, we're going down)  
They got all the right moves in all the right places  
(so yeah, we're going down)**

He just prayed that Ludwig wouldn't have to find out about where the blindness came from, or ever saw his arm. He didn't deserve any help with the burdens he bore. He deserved to die.

**  
All the right friends in all the right places  
(so yeah, we're going down)  
They got all the right moves in all the right places  
(so yeah, we're going down)**

Feliciano ran up to Ludwig, not caring that he was busy talking to Roderick, and started pulling on his sleeve.

"Ve~ Ludwig…" Feliciano whined.

"Not now," Ludwig ordered.

**  
I said everybody knows, everybody knows where we're going  
(yeah, we're going down)  
I said everybody knows, everybody knows where we're going  
(yeah, we're going down)**

"But Ludwig," Feliciano asked, "Why does your brother have a tattoo on his arm?"  
**  
(Yeah, we're going down)  
(Yeah, we're going down)  
All the right moves, yeah  
(Yeah, we're going down)  
All the right moves, yeah  
(Yeah, we're going down)**

Ludwig and Roderick froze.

"What?" Ludwig whispered.

Pagebreak

**Shay: The reason why Gilbert's bind is because one of the experiments used on victims was injecting chemicals into their eyes to get the perfect Aryan eye color. It caused them to go blind. That's how Gilbert lost his sight. Sad, huh? **


	2. you found me

**Shay: Here's the second chapter. Each chapter will be a different song that has to do with the plot. This one is 'You Found Me' by the Fray. I figured it would work…**

**Page break**

Gilbert didn't respond as the door to the ball room was thrown open. He was stuck in the past, unable to hear the voices calling out to him while he looked into an imagined face only he could see. She had been taken to the labs with him. She had been the last thing he had ever seen, and she was dead. Her name was Ali, and she had died.

**I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad  
Where the West was all but won**

"Hey Gil," Ali whispered, a thin emancipated ghost.

"Ali," he whispered, not noticing that his brother and Roderich were trying to talk to him.

Ali rolled her light blue eyes, "Come on, your brother's getting worried."

**  
All alone, smoking his last cigarette  
I said, "Where you been?" He said, "Ask anything"  
**

Gilbert stood, staring at her, the last image he had seen. In his mind, she was thin, her light brown hair cut short as she wasted away from a disease they had given her.

"Come on Gilby," Ali winked at him, "You're our hope. You can't give up, stupid. So get up and walk. You've got two working legs don't you?"

Ali pointed at her own legs, frostbitten from experimentation.

**  
Where were you when everything was falling apart?  
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang**

Gilbert stood, watching as Ali turned to ash.

"You have to live for me, alright Gilbert?" Ali whispered to Gilbert, "And if you open your eyes, you'll see that you're not as alone as you thought love."

**  
And all I needed was a call that never came  
To the corner of 1st and Amistad  
**

"Brother, are you alright?' Ludwig asked, pulling Gilbert off the floor.

Ludwig looked over to Roderich, who looked nervous about Gilbert. Ludwig always wondered why Gilbert never saw Roderich standing next to him, worrying over him.

**  
Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me**

**Lying on the floor surrounded, surrounded  
**

"I'm fine," Gilbert snapped, covering his wrist. Ludwig's eyes were drawn to the wrist.

"Brother, what happened to your wrist?" Ludwig demanded.

**Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?  
Just a little late, you found me, you found me**

Gilbert stiffened, "Nothing brother."

"Gilbert…" Roderich snapped, eyes looking annoyed.

Gilbert jumped a bit, eyes widening. Ludwig frowned.

"Did you not see him standing there?" Ludwig demanded.

Gilbert glared at the wall in front of him, eyes dark. He didn't respond, just stared ahead.

**But in the end everyone ends up alone  
Losing her, the only one who's ever known his ear**

"Tell him," Ali whispered , "Tell him what you told me, when we were in that camp, Gilbert…"

Gilbert sighed sadly, "I didn't see him there…"**  
**

**Who I am, who I'm not and who I wanna be  
No way to know how long she will be next to me  
**

Roderich shut his eyes against the tears. He had always stood quietly next to Gilbert, and he had never noticed. Ludwig sighed sadly.

"Brother, he's always there," Ludwig muttered.

Gilbert's red eyes flashed darkly.

**  
Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me  
Lying on the floor surrounded, surrounded**

No one had noticed, no one had ever suspected it. He had become quite the actor when he had been in the camp.

**  
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?  
Just a little late, you found me, you found me!  
**

"I can't tell," Gilbert snarled, pulling away from Ludwig, and storming out of the room, "I've been blind since 1945!"

**  
The early morning, the city breaks  
And I've been calling for years and years and years and years  
And you never left me no messages**

Gilbert stormed through the halls, ignoring the voices calling out to him. He was so tired of this existence, he just wanted to go to sleep. Gilbert walked out into the light, and started down the street. He wouldn't be going home tonight, he was going to go see Ali's grave.

**You never sent me no letters  
You got some kind of nerve taking all I want!  
**

He was furious. No, he had passed furious years ago, now he just wanted for it all to end, so he could go home, and go to sleep.

**  
Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me  
Lying on the floor, where were you? Where were you?  
**

He walked into the graveyard, and knelt in front of a grave he had never seen. He wasn't sure why everything was coming out now, but he would have to deal with it.

**  
Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me  
Lying on the floor surrounded, surrounded  
**

He was so angry at the world, had been for years. The horrible image of the Russian soldiers surrounding Ali's dead body had been one of the last things he had seen. He had wanted to scream as they told him they were sorry about the loss.

**Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?  
Just a little late, you found me, you found me!  
**

Where were they, when all of them needed to be rescued? Where were they when Ali was dying? Why couldn't she live, while he took her place?

**  
Why'd you have to wait to find me, to find me?**

He ignored the footsteps coming footsteps, placing a hand on the grave. Why did they have to wait so long, before they saved all the victims? Why had waited to find them?

**Page break**

**Shay: Next chapter will have to deal with the confrontation of Ludwig and Roderich about Gilbert's tattoo. Should I give him more than one tattoo? Tell me what you think. **


	3. new divide

**Shay: This one "New Divide" by Linkin Park. If you guys have any songs you want to use, please tell me. It gets really depressing, and the next chapters get worse before it gets better.**

**Page break**

Gilbert stiffened as the memories came back up to him, he didn't feel Ludwig and Roderich as they grabbed him, and turned him around.

"Brother, what's wrong," Ludwig asked.

Gilbert threw his head back, and laughed, "She's dead brother, that's what wrong. She died…she was sixteen brother, she should be going to school or something. No, she should have grandkids."

"Who Gilbert," Roderich asked, "Whose gone?"

"Ali," Gilbert smiled sadly, "She was a sweetheart, brother. She always said that she'd make everything better. That little idiot…she believed that I could save her…"

Ludwig pulled Gilbert's face towards his, "Brother, what are you talking about?"

"I can show you," Gilbert leaned back, "But you have to look at it through my eyes."

Roderich looked into Gilbert's eyes, and saw a young girl with short brown hair and smiling blue eyes staring back looking confused.

"Gil," she asked, "Why am I here?'

"I don't know," Gilbert wrapped her in his arms, "I'm sorry princess…"

**I remembered black skies, the lightning all around me  
I remembered each flash as time began to blur**

"Gil, when can I go home?" Ali asked, leaning against Gilbert.

Ludwig and Roderich watched as the two sat on top of a camp hut, staring out across barbed wire and death, towards the factory.

"You are home now," Gilbert said sadly, "This is where we belong."

"How'd you get here," Ali asked suddenly, frowning, "You're not like everyone else."

"I smuggled arms to the Jewish resistance," Gilbert said calmly.

Ali punched his shoulder, "You're an idiot Gilbert. Seriously, you shouldn't have gotten yourself caught."

"I don't get caught," Gilbert scoffed.

"Keep telling yourself that," Ali rolled her eyes, "Vanya said you'll get yourself killed."

"I won't leave you alone with that Russian princess," Gilbert smiled softly at her.

Roderich felt a stirring of jealousy at the girl.

**  
Like a startling sign that fate had finally found me  
And your voice was all I heard that I get what I deserve  
**

"Can we make our own country?" Ali asked one night, sitting on the roof, "Somewhere where we can feel safe?'

Gilbert frowned, "…Anything for your people. I'll fight for you if I have to."

Ali blinked in surprise, "What about every one that you knew before this?"

Ludwig and Roderich watched as Gilbert's eyes darkened.

"They probably think I'm dead," Gilbert told her.

**  
So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean  
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes**

Ali screamed as the guards grabbed Gilbert and dragged him away.

"What are you doing?" a man stalked forward, "Do not harm him! He's vital to our research!"

The soldiers let Gilbert go, and he collapsed to the ground. Gilbert glared up at the man, while Ali gasped in fear, staring at him with wide eyes.

"I want him in the lab in a couple of minutes," the man snarled.

Ali let out a scream, and tackled a guard. The guard grabbed her around the neck and threw her to the ground, placing his sub-machine gun to her head.

"Halt!" the man ordered, "If she wants to go with him so bad, send her with him. I can always use more experiments…"

**  
Give me reason to fill this hole, connect the space between  
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies across this new divide  
**

Gilbert snarled as he was strapped down to a table, struggling to get away.

"Give him the ansesia," the man ordered, dressed in doctor's clothes.

"Yes Dr. Mengele," the assistant nodded, placing the needle in Gilbert's vein.

"On second thought," Mengele said, before the anesesia could be injected, "I want him to feel this."

Gilbert screamed as Mengele placed a needle full of dye in his eye, and injected the chemicals.

**There was nothing in sight but memories left abandoned  
There was nowhere to hide, the ashes fell like snow**

**Ali wrapped Gilbert in her thin arms, as blue stained tears fell from his eyes.**

"Gilby, don't cry," Ali whispered.

"I'm not," Gilbert sighed, "My eyes are trying to get rid of the pigment."

"…You have to be crying," Ali whispered, "It's horrible here!"

Gilbert looked into the distance, eyes disfigured by the needles, "If I cry, who will be the hope for everyone else?"

Ali smiled, "Glad you're taking responsibility for who you now are."  
**  
And the ground caved in between where we were standing  
And your voice was all I heard that I get what I deserve  
**

Gilbert watched as the doctor had the soldiers lead him to the creamatorium, before pushing him into the flames…

**  
So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean  
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes across this new divide  
**

Ali held Gilbert as he lay there, gasping in pain, while he regained his skin, burnt beyond recognition.

"It'll be alright Gilbert," Ali whispered, "Someone will come for us."

**In every loss, in every lie, in every truth that you'd deny  
And each regret and each goodbye was a mistake too great to hide  
And your voice was all I heard that I get what I deserve  
**

Gilbert watched as Ali was dragged away from his failing arms, as she was dragged to the ice chamber.

**So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean  
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes**

Gilbert held Ali as she gasped for breath, shivering. Her legs were frostbitten and destroyed, and she was dying.

"Gilbert, remember," Ali whispered, "There are people who care for you, outside. They will take care of you after this."

He lost his sight when she died.

**  
Give me reason to fill this hole, connect the space between  
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies across this new divide  
Across this new divide, across this new divide **

Gilbert broke eye contact with the other two, releasing them from his memories.

"Gilbert," Roderich whispered.

Gilbert turned away, "I'm going to get drunk now."

Gilbert left the cemetery. He couldn't deal with the two of them knowing about his past. No now, not yet. He couldn't cross the divide he had created in his mind after Ali's death.


	4. rain

**Shay: This beautiful song is "Rain" by Creed. Remember, you can ask for a song to be used, and I'll try. I think the next one will have Gilbert start to move on from his memories. **

**Page break**

Gilbert stood in a field, beer bottle falling out of his hand. He had forgotten that when he drank, he remembered what he had lost. All of it. Especially recently. The survivors were dieing of old age, and soon he would be the only one left, and no one would understand.

**Can you help me out? can you lend me your hand?  
It's safe to say that, I'm stuck again **

He knew that things were changing around him, and he wished it could all stop, so he could finally accept what had happened.

**  
Trapped between this life and the light  
I just can't figure out, how to make it right  
**

Gilbert looked up at the sky, unable to see the dark clouds covering the moon. Lost in thought, he remembered Vanya, a Russian spy he had known in the camp, and he wise words.

**  
A thousand times before  
I've wondered if there's something more  
Something more  
**

"The sky knows when to give us support," she had smiled then, "It will always watch over us."

Gilbert felt like it would rain that night.

**  
I feel it's gonna rain like this for days  
So let it rain down and wash everything away**

Gilbert smiled as the rain fell onto his upturned face. He could just make out their faces in his mind, reflected in the rain drops around him.

**  
I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine  
With every tomorrow comes another life**

Maybe he could start to move on; finally, he might be able to rely on others to get over the scaring events that still stood out in his mind.

**  
I feel it's gonna rain, for days and days  
I feel it's gonna rain  
**

He saw Vanya laughing at him, as he tried to make Nico, only seven, laugh even in these horrible circumstances.

**  
I tried to figure out, I can understand  
What it means to be whole again **

He saw Michael as he blew up the crematorium. It had killed Michael in the process.

At least Michael hadn't been hung like Zara.

**  
Trapped inside the truth and the consequence  
Nothings real, nothings making sense  
**

They had all wondered what the sense in it was, each and every one of them. They were all from the same countries, right? So why did they suffer.

**  
A thousand times before  
I've wondered if there's something more  
Something more  
**

He stared blankly ahead, remembering the pain as the needle entered his eyes. He remembered looking into a mirror and seeing tears died blue stream down his face, as he lost everything he had ever cared about.

**I feel it's gonna rain like this for days  
So let it rain down and wash everything away  
**

Gilbert threw his arms out and tilted his head back, eyes closed. He let the rain wash all the pain he had felt for years away from him, he let himself start to move on. He smiled slightly, seeing his old friends as he should have remembered, with the smiles they gave him.

**I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine  
I feel it's gonna rain like this, rain like this, rain like this!  
**

He felt his thin white shirt soak threw, showing the tattoos that marked his trials, the tattoos that marked him being the personification of the Holocaust. He was getting closer to letting it all out.

**  
Fall down wash away my yesterdays  
Fall down so let the rain fall down on me  
**

He let the tears run down his face, hidden by the rain. It was time for him to let go. It was time to let everything go, and move on. He couldn't save them, had always known that, but now…now he could admit it.

**I feel it's gonna rain like this for days  
Let it rain down and wash everything away  
**

Gilbert felt his legs give out on him, and collapsed into the soft grass. He let out as shaky sigh. For a moment, it felt like he could see everything again.

**I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine ****  
I feel it's gonna rain like this, rain like this  
**

He stood as the rain started to fade, and started to walk back to his house. It was time he faced the past. He knew that he was only beginning a storm of pain for himself, but he owed the ones who died to face that pain.

**  
I feel it's gonna rain like this  
Rain like this **

Gilbert continued down the street, ignoring the people running to get out of the rain.

**  
I feel it's gonna rain like this  
I feel it's gonna rain **

He had a feeling that he was in for a long rain storm.


	5. 21 guns

**Shay: "21 Guns" by Green Day. I love this song so much!**

**Page break**

Gilbert let himself into a memorial he had never had the courage to face. It was hard for him to walk through the doors into this building, but he needed to face it.

**Do you know what's worth fighting for?  
When it's not worth dying for?**

Gilbert stared up at a large mural, created from the pictures on the prisoners. He knew the numbers by heart. He was the first one, Ali three rows down, and twelve spaces to the left.

**  
Does it take your breath away  
And you feel yourself suffocating?  
**

Zara, Michale, Nico, and Vanya. All were there. Gilbert stood in Austwich, for the first time in over sixty years. The last time he had been there, had been that wonderful, but terrible day in 1945…

**  
Does the pain weigh out the pride?  
And you look for a place to hide?  
**

Gilbert gasped in pain as he lay in the med bay in Mengele's office. Ali had died a few minutes before, and he was weeping, eyes still tinted blue. He could see still, but knew it wouldn't last for long.

**Did someone break your heart inside?  
You're in ruins  
**

Gilbert pulled himself off the ground, cradling Ali's body in his arms. He stood on shaky legs, and started to walk towards the door. Oh, if only the Allies could see him now. They would be estatic to see him in ruins**. **

**  
One, 21 guns  
Lay down your arms, give up the fight  
**

He stumbled over to the side of the workplace, where the other survivors stood, pounding on the door, beging for freedom. He had never before wished he had stayed in his marked cell, the one he had lived in for years now.

**One, 21 guns  
Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I  
**He watched as the door was opened by a Soviet soldier, and the people cheered. He just hung his head in shame. Even the great Prussia couldn't prevent this from happening.

**  
When you're at the end of the road  
And you lost all sense of control  
**

Gilbert handed Ali's body to the soldier, then collapsed. He looked up as a soldier called for his attention.

"Bring me a pen and a notebook," Gilbert ordered.

**And your thoughts have taken their toll  
When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul  
**

The confused man did so, and Gilbert allowed himself to think back on the experiences he had been forced to go through.

**Your faith walks on broken glass  
And the hangover doesn't pass  
**

Gilbert started to write, starting of the notebook with the words, "_Dear anyone…"_

**Nothing's ever built to last  
You're in ruins  
**

Gilbert started to fill the book with his memories, from Ali and Zara, to Nico and Michael. It had only taken him a while to fill it up, he had so many memories of this terrible place.

**  
One, 21 guns  
Lay down your arms, give up the fight  
**

Gilbert stood slowly, and started back into the terrible place he had escaped from, as he headed back towards his cell.

**One, 21 guns  
Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I  
**

He walked through the celebrating prisoners, those who could still stand helping the others out of that horrible place.

**Did you try to live on your own  
When you burned down the house and home?  
**

He walked through the halls, that the Nazi's had killed them in, and stopped outside of his cell. He opened the door to the room, and walked in one last time…

**Did you stand too close to the fire  
Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone?  
**

The walls were covered in marks that he had made ages ago. They were symbols of the pain that the people felt. Every mark had a meaning.

**When it's time to live and let die  
And you can't get another try  
**

He hadn't known it at the time, but every memory of every person who died in the camps, or had died because of the camps, or even died while being a survivor, were pushed into his mind. It hurt.

**Something inside this heart has died  
You're in ruins**

His weak legs gave out as he stared at the wall, holding the book in his hands, eyes going blurry. He had quit eating a while ago, giving all of his food to the children in the camps.

**  
One, 21 guns  
Lay down your arms, give up the fight  
**

He stumbled to his feet, and started out of the horrible room. No one would ever find this room, and he knew it. That's why he left the notebook there.

**One, 21 guns  
Throw up your arms into the sky  
**

Gilbert limped out into the sunshine, as his eyesight finally left him, leaving him blind. The last thing he had seen was Ali's corpse, as the Soviets took it to bury.

**One, 21 guns  
Lay down your arms, give up the fight**

He wasn't recognized by Alfred or Ivan when they came to help the prisoners. His hair was brown with dry blood, his eyes were full of tears and leaked blue coloring, and his voice was gone from screaming. Because of this, no one ever realized that he was there…

**One, 21 guns  
Throw up your arms into the sky**

He opened his eyes, standing under the mural of the victims. He could always see in Austwitch, simply because of the memories. He had learned he could see in any of the camps, but he never went. It was probably time he went home.

**You and I…**

Inside the building, a marked cell sat, unopened for years. Inside, on the floor, lay a journal cover in dust, opened to the first page. It read "_Dear anyone…_"

Page break

**Please review, and if there's a song you want, just tell me. Next chapter, Gilbert tells Ludwig and Roderich about his past. And Ali. **


	6. how to save a life

**Shay: "How to Save a Life" by the Fray. It took me forever to find a song that fit with the story!**

**Page break**

Gilbert walked back into the house, and sat down, staring at Ludwig and Roderich.

"I don't want talk about what happened," Gilbert snarled, "So just leave it alone."

With that he walked out of the room, and locked himself in his own room, unaware of Roderich's stricken face. How was he to tell the two of them the horrors that he had seen? There had to be someone better to tell the story…

**Step one, you say, We need to talk?  
He walks, you say, Sit down, it's just a talk?**

Julia Blake sighed as she walked through the halls of Austiwch. An American film director, she wanted to see what she could come up with here. She had heard a rumor from her grandmother, about the marked room.

**  
He smiles politely back at you  
You stare politely right on through  
**

Her grandmother, Vanya, had told her of the red eyed man who lived in the marked room, and Julia was trying to find it. The red eyed man was what she wanted to make a movie about, him, and the girl her grandmother spoke so fondly of, a girl named Ali.

**  
Some sort of window to your right  
As he goes left and you stay right  
**

As Julia walked down the hall, she listened to her assistant, Marie, was speaking rapidly in French, trying to convince someone for more money.

"Marie, just chill-lax, I'll find the room," Julia smiled.

**Between the lines of fear and blame  
You begin to wonder why you came  
**

Julia continued down the hallway, until she heard a cracking noise underneath her feet. She yelped as she fell through the door, into a cell.

**Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
**

"Where am I?" Julia whispered, before looking around. It was a cell, a cell that was marked. A series of coordinates were placed on the wall in front of her, carved in. She turned, seeing a series of umbers behind her carved into the wall. They looked like…

"The tattoo numbers," Julia breathed, eyes full of awe.

**And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life  
**

"Marie!" she called up, "I found the cell!"

Julia stood, and stared at the dirty cell. There was a cot, that looked ruined, and on it, sat a simple brown notebook. She walked over, and opened it, seeing the words, "_To anyone…_"

**  
Let him know that you know best  
Cause after all, you do know best**

"So, this Gilbert person wrote this book when the Red Army was trying to help them," Marie frowned as the two girls walked through the halls of the International Center in Berlin. There was a meeting or something going on.

"Uh huh," Julia was practically bouncing, "Look, look, look! He could be living I Berlin or something!"

**Try to slip past his defense  
Without granting innocence**

Marie smiled apologetically to the men I business suits they crossed, "Sweetie, I don't think he would talk to you!"

"He will," Julia smiled, "Let's find him first. I wonder what he looks like."

"He's an albino, how hard can it be?" Marie snapped, ignoring the multi-cultural people staring at them, "Why are we even here?"

**  
Lay down a list of what is wrong  
The things you've told him all along  
**

"He had a brother," Julia was practically jumping up and down, "I can find him…"

"That's a great idea, go up to an ex-Nazi and ask him if he knew about this," Marie snapped.

"Excuse me ladies, but you seem to be looking for someone."

**And pray to God he hears you  
And pray to God he hears you  
**

Both turned to see a smiling man with glasses and blond hair smiling at them, "Who are you guys looking for?"

"Sir, it's fine…" Marie began.

"I'm looking for Gilbert Westesmitch," Julia snapped, "Do you know where he is?"

**And where did I go wrong? I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness**

"He is at home, he had a fight with his brother," the man raised an eye.

**  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life  
**

"Can I meet him?" Julia demanded.

**  
As he begins to raise his voice  
You lower yours and grant him one last choice**

"Why?" the man asked.

"I need to check him about a book he wrote," Julia smiled.

**Drive until you lose the road  
Or break with the ones you've followed  
**

"I'll take you to him," he smiled, "They live down the street."

**He will do one of two things  
He will admit to everything  
Or he'll say he's just not the same  
And you'll begin to wonder why you came  
**

Julia pounded on the door, determined to meet the man who had became an obsession of hers.

**Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life  
**

The door opened, and a tired pair of red eyes glared at the three of them.

"What?" Gilbert snapped.

**  
Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life  
**

"Sir, is this your book?" Julia held out the book, staring straight into the eyes.

**How to save a life  
How to save a life  
**

"I wouldn't know," Gilbert smiled sadly.

"Did you write _to anyone_," Julia asked, "And did you know someone named Ali?"

**  
Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life  
**

"Yes, I did," Gilbert smiled sadly, "Why?"

**Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life  
**

"I want to talk to you about this, and if you can, I'd like you to come back to the states with me and see my grandmother," Julia demanded.

**How to save a life  
How to save a life**

"Of course," Gilbert let them in. Julia knew that she had to find out the whole story, about the man who saved her grandmother's life.

Page break

**Please review, and if there's a song you want, just tell me. Yeah, I lied about them telling each other. But Julia will. Probably bluntly…very bluntly. **


	7. airplanes

**Shay: "Airplanes" by the B.o.b. and Hayley Williams. I'm sorry that it took me so long to get back into this story! But I hope this makes up for it!**

**Page break**

"I heard a traitor to the Reich is coming in today," Michael told the other four he was standing with. The man was a American prisoner from Africa.

"I bet I shot him once," Vanya, a Russian prisoner smirked viciously.

"She's scary," Nico whispered to Zara as they stood, watching the train with the man in it pull up.

"How bad can he be?" Ali asked, smiling, "If he's bee sent here, then he's on our side!"

They all looked at the train, as the door to the cattle car opened, and out stepped a man wrapped in chains, with sliver hair and red eyes.

"For treason, you have been sentenced to the gas chambers, any comments?" The commandant roared, while the entire camp watched.

"Bring it on," Gilbert smirked.

Ali screamed in terror as the chambers opened up, after the gas had flown, and Gilbert walked out, blood pouring out of his mouth. He grinned viciously.

"Is that the best you can do?" He snarled, blood dripping down his chin.

**Can we pretend that airplanes  
In the night sky  
Are like shooting stars  
I could really use a wish right now  
Wish right now, wish right now  
Can we pretend that airplanes  
In the night sky  
Are like shooting stars  
I could really use a wish right now  
Wish right now, Wish right now**

Ali looked into the cell that Gilbert sat in. It was covered I different numbers and maps.

"Hi, I'm…"

"Ali, number J2677831," Gilbert turned blood shot eyes to her, "What do you want?"

"What are you in here for?" Ali asked.

"Selling guns to Jewish partisans," Gilbert laughed.

**Yeah  
I could use a dream or a genie or a wish  
To go back to a place much simpler than this  
'Cause after all the partyin'  
The smashin' and crashin'  
And all the glitz and the glam and the fashion  
And all the pandemonium and all the madness  
There comes a time when you fade to the blackness  
And when you're starin' at that phone in yo' lap  
And hopin', but them people never call you back**

"Nico run!" Micahel shouted, pushing the child through the cell bars.

Nico dropped down, to be face to face with Gilbert.

"Hide in here any time you have to," Gilbert told him, "Nobody wants to come here."

**But that's just how the story unfolds  
You get another hand  
Soon after you fold  
And when your plans unravel in the sand  
What would you wish for if you had one chance?  
So airplanes airplanes  
**

"I can't stand this place," Michael hissed to Vanya.

"Shut it you stupid American," Vanya snarled back, "Do you want to get us killed?"

"It's better than living like this!" Michael yelled.

"Both of you be quiet," Gilbert snapped, "You'll get more people then just yourselves killed."

"Gilbert, do you think we'll ever be free?" Ali asked one starry night.

"I don't know," Gilbert answered.

"I have a dream," Ali whispered, as they lay on the roof of the barrack.

"In it, we have a country all to ourselves, where we're not hated," Ali cried, pointing at the stars, "A country…that doesn't abandon us…"

Gilbert gave her a hug, "Not every country has abandoned you."

**Sorry I'm late  
I'm on my way  
So don't close that gate  
If I don't make that  
Then I switch my flight  
And I'll be right back at it  
By the end of the night**

Ali watched as Gilbert was gunned down, tears streaming down her face. But she gasped as he stood, shirt in threads. On his back, was a number, tattooed.

"Well, this is inconvenient," Gilbert muttered.

Gilbert pulled of his shirt, showing the other five the number tattoo, which had raised. A tattoo of barbed wire circled his heart, while a series of coordinates were on his arms. Across his chest, were the numbers of every victim of the camps.

"I used to be Prussia," Gilbert told them, "But now…I am the Holocaust."

**Can we pretend that airplanes  
In the night sky  
Are like shooting stars  
I could really use a wish right now  
Wish right now, wish right now  
Can we pretend that airplanes  
In the night sky  
Are like shooting stars  
I could really use a wish right now  
Wish right now, wish right now**

Michael fought of the soldiers, as he waited for the home made bomb to go off. It went off a couple of seconds later, killing him. But at least it took the creamatorium down with him.

**Somebody take me back to the days  
Before this was a job  
Before I got paid  
Before it ever mattered what I had in my bank  
Yeah back when I was tryin' to get a tip at Subway  
And back when I was rappin' for the hell of it  
But now days we rappin' to stay relevant  
I'm guessin' that if we can make some wishes out of airplanes  
Then maybe oh maybe I'll go back to the days**

Zara had organized a reistance. She stood on the gallows, eyes full of tears. She was a mother of three, and had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Good bye," she whispered. Them there were four.

**Before the politics that we call the rap game  
And back when ain't nobody listened to my mix tapes  
And back before I tried to cover up my slate  
But this is for Decatur  
What's up Bobby Ray?**

Vanya grabbed Nico and ran, ran as if hounds from Hell were chasing them. She led Nico through woods, and streams, and towns, until they reached the Red Army. The army she served.

"Help!" she screamed, tears pouring down her face, "You have to help us!"

She told them where the camp was.

**So can I get a wish to end the politics  
And get back to the music that started this shit  
So here I stand  
And then again I say  
I'm hopin' we can make some wishes outta airplanes**

"There is no one to protect you now," Mengele smirked, "You're mine now Prussia.'

Ali screamed and tackled a guard to protect Gilbert. Because of that she was taken to be experimented on too.

Page break

Gilbert lay on the dirty ground of the labrotory. Ali had been finished with two days ago, now they were waiting for her to die. Gilbert had been injected with a disease that was destroying his lungs.

"Gilbert, I'm not going to last," Ali whispered.

"I know, I can feel it," Gilbert sobbed, blue tears marring his cheeks, "The numbers going higher."

"Mengele ran," Ali whispered, "The Russians must be close."

"It doesn't matter, now does it?" Gilbert shut his eyes, "I'll always remember you Ali."

"I wish that you could be free Gil," Ali whispered, as she died.

**Can we pretend that airplanes  
In the night sky  
Are like shooting stars**

**I could really use a wish right now  
Wish right now, wish right now**

When the Russians opened the door to Mengele's lab, they were horrified to see a man covered in blood, whose eyes were destroyed and covered in a blue film. He held a girl, whose legs were blackened frostbitten stumps. He didn't move, just stared blankly ahead.

"I'll never be free," Gilbert whispered brokenly, as he stood shakily.

65 years later he stared sightlessly at Julia, as he finished telling her everything.

"Sir, I need your permission to make a movie about your book," Julia announced, after a moment of silence.

"You can," Gilbert smiled, "I doubt anyone would come to see it."

"You'd be surprised," Julia grinned, "Grandma always said you were stubborn."

"Who's your grandmother?" Gilbert demanded.

"Vanya, and my grandfather is Michael," Julia looked sad, "I wish I could have met him."

"He's strong," Gilbert admitted.

**Can we pretend that airplanes**  
**In the night sky  
Are like shooting stars  
I could really use a wish right now  
Wish right now, wish right now**

"Oh!" Julia called as she turned towards Gilbert as she stared to leave the house, "Ali was right! You need to be free! And you can do that if you start to see."

"I'm blind," Gilbert dead-panned.

"You don't need sight to see!" Julia called back.**  
**

Page break

**Please review, and if there's a song you want, just tell me. If you want the other countries to see the movie, please tell me!**


	8. AUTHOR

Shay here! I'm writing this to tell you guys that the characters _will _watch the movie, but there is a slight problem with that.

More than one character is going to be in a concentration camp.

So I need to know by Saturday what you guys want. Do you want the movie straight away, or do you want to see what happens to the other characters who will be entering the camps. It's your guys choice. If I don't get any feedback by Saturday, then I'll just go on to the other characters in the camps. If you want the movie first, the characters who will be in camps will react to the movie. If not, then they'll be included later on, possibly in the movie.

Here's a list so far of what will be happening with the other characters:

America- Buchenwald, Gerwman concentration camp

Korea- Japanese Internment camp

Poland- Russian labor camp

Denmark- German labor camp

Turkey- Japanese prisoner of war camp

If there are any more types of camps that you would like me to write about, please tell me. I might do a feature on Manzanar, but there weren't any racial prejudices there that led to mistreatment of prisoners or mass executions.

The reason why I'm writing this is because a friend of mine asked me why I would want to learn about something so sad. I learn about it to remember the tragedy, and remember so that it doesn't happen on such a massive scale again.

If there is any information that you believe that I should add to this story to help it honor these victims, please tell me.

Thank you, Shay Elric


	9. RE AUTHOR

Hey, I'm here to let you know what's going to happen in the next chapter. The characters will not be watching the movie, because I got equal amounts of people wanting to see more of the camps, or see the movie. So you'll be introduced to the other camp victims of WWII.

WW2 geek gave me a review about Alfred having to be Jewish to enter a concentration camp. He's not Jewish, he's an atheist in my mind, because of the separation of church and state. But if you think about it, the quickest way to defeat your enemy would be to kill their country right, and seeing how nations are immortal, sending them to the concentration camps was the second best thing that Hitler could come up with to get rid of enemy countries.

Next week you'll get Alfred's chapter about his life in the camps.

Thank you, Shay Elric


	10. love the way you lie

**Shay: There was some confusion with my last note, so let me explain it here. Hitler does want to purify Alfred from the different "un-Aryan" people in his country, but then it turns out Alfred's gay. That means that he gets sent to the camps. There was also confusion about who went to the camps. If you were un-Aryan, you went to the camps. That included communists, poles, slavs, and gypsies. I'll be dealing with that when Turkey goes to a camp. Hope this clears it up. **

"**Love the Way You Lie" by the Eminem. This chapter focuses on Alfred, and an OC named Darren. If you like them enough, then I can continue with their story. **

**Page break**

April 4, 1945

Alfred couldn't walk any more. He was too weak. He had been forced to leave Darren behind, and now he could barley raise his head. He was leaning against the side of a barn, covered in an inch of snow. He shut his eyes, ignoring the cries of men in the distance. They were probably only Nazi's.

**Just gonna stand there and watch me burn  
Well that's alright because I like the way it hurts  
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry  
Well that's alright because I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie**

June 8, 1944

Alfred had been caught at Normandy. He had been on Omaha beach, and as a sergeant, he had been the last commanding officer. All the other officers had been killed within the first ten minutes. He had destroyed one of the batteries, but two days after, he had been captured by SS Officers. A Jewish soldier had been with him. Alfred killed him in order to save him. He wasn't so lucky. They had at first told him they would purify him, but then it became clear to them that he had no interest in the Aryan woman they brought to him. So they brought him a man. His reaction infuriated Hitler, and signed Alfred's fate. He was sent to Buchenwald, along with several homosexuals, male and female. He wouldn't be spared, and many of the higher raking officers in Hitler's elite circle believed that they could replace him with a more Aryan personification for the embodiment of the Untied States of America.

**I can't tell you what it really is  
I can only tell you what it feels like  
And right now there's a steel knife in my windpipe  
I can't breathe but I still fight all I can fight  
As long as the wrong feels right it's like I'm in flight**

**Alfred was surprised when he was loaded on a boxcar. He was the only one in his car. He knew there was another country in the car next to him**.

"Hey!" Alfred called, "Whose over there?"

"…They caught you too America?" Came a broken voice.

"Prussia?" Alfred raised an eyebrow, "Why are you here?"

"Weapons to partisans," Gilbert laughed darkly from the other car, "They're good shots. How about you? Why are you here?"

"Got caught by the SS outside Normandy," Alfred sighed, "Don't know where we're headed."

"Good, the less you know, the better you'll feel," Gilbert's voice turned colder, "Just try to hang on until help comes."

**High off of love, drunk from my hate  
It's like I'm huffin' paint and I love her  
The more I suffer, I suffocate  
Right before I'm about to drown, she resuscitates  
Me, she fuckin' hates me and I love it, Wait!  
Where you going? I'm leaving you.  
No you ain't. Come back. We're running right back**

Alfred was one of the first Allied prisoners in Buchenwald Labor Camp. Because he was a country, he was given the hardest burdens to carry. More prisoners came in every day. However, he hadn't heard that any more countries had been captured.

Here we go again, it's so insane

**'Cause when it's going good, it's going great  
I'm Superman with the wind in his back  
She's Lois Lane, but when it's bad, it's awful  
I feel so ashamed, I snapped, "Who's that dude?"  
I don't even know his name  
I laid hands on her, I'll never stoop so low again  
I guess I don't know my own strength**

"How long do you think we'll last?" Darren, an English prisoner asked, leaning against Alfred's shoulder.

"As long as it takes," Alfred smiled down at Darren, "I'll do what ever it takes to keep you alive."

"Just…take care of yourself also," Darren begged.

**Just gonna stand there and watch me burn  
Well that's alright because I like the way it hurts  
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry  
Well that's alright because I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie**

Alfred met Darren on July 9, 1944. Darren was in the Royal Air Force, his bomber had been shot down, and he was the only survivor. He had been brought to Buchenwald, where he had met Alfred. After several months together, they committed the most sure fire way of getting themselves killed.

They fell in love.

**You ever love somebody so much,  
you could barely breathe when you with 'em?  
You meet, and neither one of you even know what hit 'em  
Got that warm fuzzy feeling, yeah, them chills, used to get 'em  
Now you gettin' fuckin' sick of lookin' at 'em  
You swore you'd never hit 'em, never do nothing to hurt 'em  
Now you're in each other's face spewing venom in your words when you spit 'em**

**You push, pull each other's hair, scratch, claw, bit 'em  
Throw 'em down, pin 'em, so lost in the moments when you're with 'em  
It's the fate that took over, it controls you both  
So they say, you're best to go your separate ways  
Guess that they don't know you 'cause today,  
That was yesterday, yesterday is over, it's a different day  
Sound like broken records playing over  
But you promised her, next time you'd show restraint  
You don't get another chance  
Life is no Nintendo game, but you lied again  
Now you get to watch her leave out the window  
Guess that's why they call it "window pane**

"You're skin and bones," Alfred whispered in Darren's ear. He held the thin form of Darren in his arms.

"Just like you, and every one else here," Darren whispered. He was to weak to talk. His head was nestled in the crook of Alfred's neck.

"I'll take care of you," Alfred murmured, kissing Darren's forehead.

That was when Alfred quit eating. Every thing food related that he got, he gave to Darren.

**Just gonna stand there and watch me burn  
Well that's alright because I like the way it hurts  
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry  
Well that's alright because I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie**

Darren gasped as Alfred kissed his neck repeatedly, going from the base of his neck up to the base of his jaw. He clutched at Alfred's jacket, trembling from his fear they would be found. Pulling back, Alfred gave Darren one last kiss on the lips.

Light green eyes stared into sky blue eyes. Darren smiled, pressing himself closer to Alfred. He was the perfect height, his head fitting right underneath Alfred's chin. His close shaved dark brown hair tickled Alfred's chin, but he continued to hold him.

"I love you," Alfred murmured.

"I love you too," Darren whispered.

**Now I know we said things, did things that we didn't mean  
And we fall back into the same patterns, same routine  
But your temper's just as bad as mine is  
You're the same as me  
When it comes to love you're just as blinded**

"The Allies are coming, they are forcing an evacuation of all prisoners able to move," Darren whispered, voice barley a croak. Darren had become so weak, that even with Alfred's share of food, he was unable to move.

"They're forcing me to march," Alfred whispered, "Stay strong, and stay alive so that I can find you again."

"Let's meet again, underneath Lady Liberty," Darren croaked, letting Alfred caress his face.

"At four p.m.," Alfred agreed, "I'll stay alive so that I can see you again."

**Baby, please come back, it wasn't you, Baby, it was me.  
Maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems  
Maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano  
All I know is I love you too much to walk away though  
Come inside, pick up your bags off the sidewalk  
Don't you hear sincerity in my voice when I talk?  
**

Alfred was forced to run the evacuation route. Any one who fell behind was either trampled to death or shot. He continued to run, and even learned to run while sleeping. It was a week later that he lost the last of his energy.

**Told you this is my fault, look me in the eyeball  
Next time I'm pissed, I'll aim my fist at the drywall  
Next time? There won't be no next time  
I apologize, even though I know it's lies  
I'm tired of the games, I just want her back. I know I'm a liar  
If she ever tries to fuckin' leave again,  
I'ma tie her to the bed and set this house on fire  
I'm just gonna**

April 4, 1945

Alfred looked up as the voices came closer. They were American soldiers, there to liberate the prisoners. He managed to raise his head, when some of his old soldiers came upon him.

"Sarge," Private Ryan whispered in horror.

Alfred smiled weakly, "Good to see you private."

**Just gonna stand there and watch me burn  
Well that's alright because I like the way it hurts  
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry  
Well that's alright because I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie**

July 4, 1946

Alfred stood under Lady Liberty, at 3:51. He would wait for Darren for the rest of his life if he had to. He watched as people celebrated in the streets. Alfred smiled sadly, wishing he could celebrate the fourth with Darren.

"Pretty city," a distinct British accent whispered in his ear, "Pretty lady, but beautiful men here in New York."

Alfred turned and pulled the man into his arms, "Darren, I missed you so much."

"And I missed you," Darren kissed Alfred soundly, then buried his face in Alfred's strong chest.

"I love you more than life its self," Alfred murmured.

"And I love you more than you could ever imagine," Darren whispered back, kissing Alfred again.

The two held each other under Lady Liberty, just happy to be reunited after the year of hell that had been their separation.

Page break

**Please review, and if there's a song you want, just tell me. Alfred was sent to Buchenwald. Buchenwald was the one of the first concentration camps to be discovered by the Allies in WWII. Most Allied POW's were sent there if they didn't lived up to German racial standards. **


End file.
